What It Takes
by Festus Flare
Summary: Kanzashi would have run away after confessing to Ichika, yet her legs couldn't move. She had stood rooted on that spot in front of his dorm. That was when she had realised that she had actually only spoken of her love for anime. At that moment, she fainted. Perhaps she should be lucky that she did.


"It's okay… I have to tell him how I feel."

Despite having become braver than her old anti-social self, Sarashiki Kanzashi still hugged the paper bag in her arms tightly. Of course, this was extremely justified. A girl confessing her love to someone was a very big deal. In fact, she had half a mind to just turn tail and run away right now. If only it hadn't been for the fact that she was not very close to the boy in question, she would have done so.

If she was in the same class as him, she would get to meet him every day. If their dorms were close by, she could come and visit him once in a while. However, this was not the case. Kanzashi's dorm was placed in a whole other block, and they were both in different classes; Him in the first class and her in the fourth class.

This might actually be her best chance at confessing.

She took the few steps necessary to close the distance between her and dorm number 1025, and balled her fist with a tepid heart. She could still turn back now. The boy wouldn't be any wiser of her actions. There was also the possibility that he was already taken by someone. With someone as popular as him, every female student, and maybe even the teachers, wanted a piece of him. Worse, what if he… rejected her?

Kanzashi quickly chucked those feelings away. No, he would never do _that_. His kindness and determination to help her throughout the course of the Tag Team Tournament, even if it was sparked by her older sister's request, proved that he did honestly care for her.

Finally finding the courage needed to finish her task, the younger Sarashiki knocked on the door, praying that the person she had fallen head over heels for would be in right now.

Lady luck was on her side, as the door was quickly opened, revealing a boy around the same age as her wearing his casual clothes.

"Oh, Kanzashi," the boy asked with a blank look apparent in his eyes. He had not expected the sudden visit "What's up?"

"Umm, Ichika," Kanzashi muttered as she handed the boy the bag she had wrapped in her arms "Here…"

"What's this?"

Orimura Ichika opened the bag on the spot, revealing an anime DVD that the bespectacled girl had bought. It featured a sentai-like hero, clad in crimson and ebony armour. Said hero was standing in front of an explosion, while images of the other characters prominent to that series were pictured behind the man.

"Anime?"

For a moment, there was a silent exchange between the two. This worried Kanzashi to no end. What was wrong? Did he not like the gift she had given him? Well, that was to be expected. After all, giving an anime DVD to the person she liked was unexpectedly childish. Many people had berated her for watching anime; claiming that teenagers should just grow out of watching them.

"Well, if you like…" the sky blue haired girl hesitated to say. This was getting even more embarrassing!

"This brings back memories! I used to watch this a long time ago."

The delighted voice of the only male IS pilot made the girl gasp in surprise. He liked it? He honestly, truly liked it? That was news to her! She was sure that he did not say that just to make her happy. The joy which was imminent in his voice proved it. She felt like she was on cloud nine. No, she was beyond that. No amount of words could describe the euphoria Kanzashi felt as she heard those words escape his mouth.

She wanted to continue with her plan, and confess to him. However, Ichika spoke first.

"Do you like it?"

A wild blush appeared on her face as a cute gasp escaped her lips. To her, Ichika had just asked a personal question. In fact, it almost felt like he was trying to know the girl better. Well, she wasn't going to let up this chance. Putting as much courage as she can into her voice, Kanzashi answered the question with a clear voice.

"Yes, I like it…"

"I see" was Ichika's reply as he smiled even wider, glad that his guess was spot on.

By now, the girl started to feel her knees wobbling, as if all the energy she had just gathered was quickly draining away. No, not yet! She was this close, so very close to admitting her feelings! It wasn't the time to be getting cold feet _now_.

"I love it!" Kanzashi shouted at the top of her lungs, which practically equalled to normal speaking voice.

An awkward silent moment lingered through the corridor, and the bespectacled girl was surprised she had not run away yet. Looking at Ichika, he seemed to be in a confused state of shock. What happened? Did he not just hear her heart's true feelings? That was when she suddenly realised…

She had made it sound as if she loved the anime. Wow, nice job breaking it.

Feeling as if she had failed even worse this time, Kanzashi fainted right on the spot which caused a certain boy to panic. Putting the gift down, Ichika shook her hard, hoping that the girl would awaken. No dice. She was practically out cold. Did she have a cold? If she did, then why come and give the gift today? She should have waited till she was healthier.

Yes, he was just _that_ dense.

Usually, Ichika would have rushed to the infirmary. However, that wasn't possible in this situation. Due to the attack by the unmanned IS drones yesterday, the infirmary was filled with injured students. If anything, bringing Kanzashi there would just make things harder for the school nurse, not to mention it would worry her older sister, Tatenashi who was being treated due to the heavy injuries she had sustained.

Thus, Ichika's next bright plan was to bring the unconscious girl into his room. After he had picked up Kanzashi and her gift, he carefully locked the door in order to give her more privacy. He laid the girl onto the spare bed that her sister sometimes used and placed the DVD onto his own. Now, he just needed to try and find out what was wrong with Kanzashi.

For some reason, he never realised that whatever he was doing could be considered as sexual harassment.

When Ichika placed his hand to her forehead, her realised that Kanzashi was burning up. God help him before he realises that she was just blushing, so he just stays there, sitting by her side. Hopefully, her non-existent cold would disappear in due time.

Ichika found a damp cloth and rinsed it in the sink. He then placed it neatly on Kanzashi's forehead. However, her black and yellow hairpins were in the way. He decided to remove them, and placed them on the drawer next to the bed. He also decided to take off her glasses and placed them beside the hairpins.

It took precisely an hour, three minutes and forty-seven seconds before Kanzashi woke up. Her head felt dizzy, and her body felt warm to the touch. As she looked around for her glasses, she realised that they were right next to her on the drawer, along with her hairpins. Now this was weird. She didn't remember taking them off.

That was when the memory of her failed confession came back into her mind.

Quickly grabbing her glasses, Kanzashi surveyed the area. This was definitely not her room. Her room had a few posters up, featuring her favourite anime hero and the blueprints for her Personal IS. So that means that she was in someone else's room. Looking at the side of her bed, she finally noticed someone sitting on the ground with his head on the mattress and was softly snoring from exhaustion. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out where she was and what happened.

She was in Orimura Ichika's room.

Ichika was sleeping next to her, although he had enough awareness not to sleep on the bed.

A quiet yelp escaped her lips as she jumped at the idea of having slept in the same room as the person she loved. No matter, she could just leave now. She could always clear up the entire thing with Ichika tomorrow… or the next week… or the next school semester.

Just as she was about to move, the resting figure had moved and his eyes blinked open. After a good stretch and an ample yawn, the boy looked at Kanzashi with an honest grin.

"You're awake! I thought you were sick, you know." Spoke Ichika as he stood up "I'm glad that you're okay, Kanzashi."

"Y-Yeah…" was all the girl could say as she, too, stood up. Things were getting quite out of hand right now, and she just wanted to run and hide in her bathroom right now. Sadly, that was impossible. Ichika's kind smile was like a bear trap that immobilised her and stopped her from leaving through the door.

Well, if she wasn't going to leave, she may as well end it here and now.

"Um… Ichika…" Kanzashi started as she played with her aqua coloured hair nervously.

"Yes?" was his slow response. Dense idiot.

"Wh-What kind of... Um, girls do you… like?"

Smooth moves, Kanzashi. Now he would just get even more confused.

"Huh, girls?" the clueless boy said out loud as he pondered over the question "I never really put much thought into it."

"Then could you at least try to think of one?"

"If you have to ask, then… I guess that it should be someone who could make up for my weaknesses and would like me even with all of my faults. Someone who could make the whole room seem brighter just by being in it."

"That person should be kind and caring, a person who isn't afraid to do what's right. Someone who I could spend hours talking to, and still not feel bored. But then again, that is simply what every person wants to have in their life. In fact, I don't really mind who that person is. I just hope that…"

Kanzashi nodded obediently as she heard each of the traits that Ichika valued in a girl. However, no matter how she tried to put it, she didn't quite fit the bill. She was a quiet person and a loner, not to mention she had many faults that would only hinder Ichika if anything happened. The Unmanned IS incident was direct proof of that.

And could bright up the room just by being there? Yeah, right. She was as gloomy as people could get. In a quiet depression, Kanzashi stared at the floor, unable to meet Ichika's gaze.

"That person could make me happy."

The honest smile that radiated like a shooting star blinded Kanzashi, and she felt even more worried that Ichika would not accept her. If only she had been her sister, then she would be able to confess whole-heartedly. She wouldn't be too shy, especially whenever the brave boy was around.

"Then…" were the words that escaped Kanzashi's lips, though she herself didn't know what she was saying anymore "What about me?"

"You? Well, you're a great friend!"

Ichika's kind and clueless expression answered it all. There was no doubt that he had misinterpreted whatever Kanzashi had spoken to him, and that only made the girl release a sigh she never even knew she was holding.

"No, not like that! I-I mean… as a… g-girl!" Kanzashi suddenly added, adding to the number of things she had said out of nowhere.

Having said that, the younger Sarashiki quickly covered her face with a pillow. Her quiet demeanour made things even worse for her, as she could only squeak out responses. Her mind was terrified of finding out the answer to the question she had just asked. It was a full minute before the girl finally looked back up, realising that Ichika was staring at her intently.

"If that's the case," the boy muttered "then you're a wonderful girl. You're smart, hardworking, and you always try your best at doing something. I think that the person who wins your heart would be very lucky"

Kanzashi sweat-dropped at the mention of that last sentence, although her face was starting to turn a bright shade of red. Why, _why_ did she have to fall for such a dense idiot? She felt someone's hand touch her shoulder, and she turned to see him. Her blood red eyes met with his dark brown ones, and the world seemed to stop. She did not want to remove her gaze.

To her, she was staring at the face of the very anime hero she admired so much. However, she knew that Ichika did not feel that way about her. In fact, from her interactions with Ichika throughout the Tag Team Tournament, she knew that Ichika had no feelings for any girl whatsoever. That would mean, she needed to be straight and clear with her feelings.

"Do you…" Kanzashi started , lowering her gaze "Do you even know why I gave you the gift, Ichika?"

"As a thank you gift for helping out during the Tournament, right?" Was Ichika's reply, which made clear just how clueless he really was.

"No, well, yes, but…" she was struggling to end her sentence now. This might actually be the bravest thing she's ever done, and she knew that everyone would be on her tail if this went well. The whole school was, after all, in love with him "I also wanted to give you something to show that I… I love you…"

Having said that, Kanzashi closed her eyes in a desperate attempt to not see what her crush was doing. If it wasn't for Ichika touching her petite white face, she would have just stayed there. When she did actually meet his gaze again, it was one of kindness and care.

"You… love me?"

Kanzashi could only nod softly.

"Wow, I… I don't know what to say," the boy said as his smile grew broader "I never thought that someone like you would fall for a guy like me. After all, I'm not the best person to be with. You deserve someone better than me. Someone who could take care of you and make you happy."

A light chuckle escaped from Kanzashi's lips. She never thought that this would be his response. Honestly, someone better than him? That was preposterous! Apparently, even he didn't know that he was the kind of person who could make anyone fall in love with him just by smiling. Now that she knew about this, it just made it funnier when she thought about the swarm of girls who were trying to win his heart.

As she stood up from the bed, Kanzashi took the hairpins that had been neglected and put them back on. Yes, these were important to her. It was her image. No one would notice her if she didn't wear these, since all they would see was the younger sister of the strongest IS pilot in the school.

"No, you're already good enough for me." She spoke softly as she smiled "You're my Hero, Ichika. There's no one who I would want to be with more than you. So that's why… I will repeat it as many times as necessary. I love you, Ichika."

The moment seemed to last for an eternity, yet it had only lasted for a few seconds. The way that Kanzashi spoke, it made Ichika feel warm inside. He still thought that she deserved better, especially since she was a Sarashiki. But for the moment, he wanted her to be his as well. She did, after all, just confess to him.

"I love you too, Kanzashi."

The two of the leaned closer, and shared a sweet kiss.

Unbeknownst to them, their interactions were observed by someone else. Someone who had the keys to Ichika's room, and even if she didn't could still enter without much problem. As she placed her foldable fan by her chin, a smile formed on her lips.

"My little sister has finally grown up," Tatenashi giggled "I'm so proud of you. Although, I hope that you're ready to face the fury of the entire student body!"

She then walked away slowly, not trying to strain her body too much. She had, after all, sneaked out of the infirmary. Well, she at least didn't have to do anything to toy around with Ichika and her darling little sister. The whole student body would find out before she could even reach one person.

On her way back to the infirmary, she passed Shinonono Houki, who was obviously going to visit her childhood friend. Hidden behind the corridors were Cecilia and Charlotte, both also wanting to see Ichika. The other two should also be close by.

Oh, this was going to be so much fun.


End file.
